Career rewards can flow from social media

About 60 per cent of Australians don't use online social networks to find jobs, a survey has found.

Australians are media savvy when it comes to their personal lives but they are yet to use online tools on the same scale to get ahead in their careers, according to social networking site LinkedIn.

A survey of 1194 LinkedIn members in September and October this year found 60 per cent did not use social media channels for career advancement, but 87 per cent believed an online profile would help their professional identity and career progression.

LinkedIn managing director Clifford Rosenberg said using a social network profile professionally could help job seekers find work.

"The majority of respondents in the research cited ex-bosses and past colleagues as the most effective sources in helping them to secure a new job, proving the huge power of building a strong professional network," Mr Rosenberg said on Friday.

"This is really a call to action for professionals to re-address their use of social networks and begin to reap as many rewards from networking professionally as they do personally."

Mr Rosenberg said context was clearly important, with only three per cent of the surveyed members saying they would be comfortable being approached for jobs via Facebook and one per cent via Twitter.

"What came through in this research is knowing when and how to apply the different social media sites correctly and when to use what," he said.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that about nine million Australian use social networks.

LinkedIn, which was launched in 2003, says out of its 75 million global members, 1.5 million are from Australia.

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